Off to Clarion Alley
From the Internet I had discovered that there was an alley that had street art murals and it was supposed to be relatively safe to go there (unlike our experiences in Copenhagen).
We caught the MUNI trolley bus route 30 and this time remembered to ask for the senior’s discount. This bar had a topical sign outside about Harvey Weinstein’s troubles.
On Market, after passing through Chinatown and the Stockton tunnel, we caught an F-Line tram heading towards the Castro district.
The tram had to stop as the ‘Day of the dead’ procession crossed Market. This took almost ten minutes. We left the tram at Guerroro Street which was one stop past where we had intended. Another couple left the tram with us and we walked together down the street. They were on their way to a famous bakery which they went to every time they visited the city to buy bread.
They were well travelled in Europe and hoped to go to Copenhagen and other Scandinavian countries next. When we reached 16th Street we turned and walked along to Valencia Street. And we did see our first street art.
Clarion Alley
On Valencia we crossed over looking for Clarion Alley. It was less than a block up and best of all opposite the Mission District Police Station.
This is one of the foundation murals of the alley.
This mural depicts the forces that Chuy saw in the North Mission at that time: punks, modern primitives, Raza organizers Xenophobic politicians & predatory churches.
The Mural is a reminder of constant struggle & the need to organize. Farmworker flag flying high.
Foe over 20 years volunteers have restored this mural, inscribing it with renewed dedication & keeping it a foundational portrait for the alley
The murals were on both sides of the alley. Unfortunately the left hand side was in the full sun. We were not the only tourists walking up and down and stopping to look at the art. Once we reached the bottom of the alley we turned around and came back up to Valencia.
Look here for my full set of images of the street art on Clarion Alley:
We walked back towards Market passing Mexican restaurants and lots of busy shops.
On the cross streets I took detours to have a look at more street art.
The street parallel to Valencia looked to have lots of murals but common sense prevailed and we stayed on the main streets.
Once under the US 101 flyover we could clearly see the F-Line trams on Market. On the tram we did see even more street art as the we went back towards Union Square.
